When bishops delegate authority...

they lose authority. From Catholic Culture:

An increasing number of Seattle parishes--including St. James Cathedral--are refusing to heed Archbishop J. Peter Sartain’s request to collect signatures for a referendum on the State of Washington’s recent redefinition of marriage. In February, Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Catholic, signed into law a bill that legalized same-sex marriage in Washington. ...

“After much prayer and reflection, I have decided we will not collect signatures at the parish,” said Tricia Wittman-Todd, pastoral life coordinator of St. Mary’s Parish in Seattle. “St. Mary’s mission is ‘House of God, Home for Everyone.’ One of our highest values is inclusion and welcome. I fear that the collection of signatures would be hurtful and divisive to our parish. I am particularly concerned about our youth who may be questioning their own sexual identity and need our support at this time in their lives.”...

“While the archbishop has given his support to the effort, he has wisely left it up to each pastor to decide whether to allow the collection of signatures in his own parish,” said Father Michael Ryan, pastor of St. James Cathedral. “After discussing the matter with the members of the cathedral's pastoral ministry team, I have decided that we will not participate in the collecting of signatures in our parish. Doing so would, I believe, prove hurtful and seriously divisive in our community.”

This sorry episode is a paragon of a serious problem within the Catholic Church in the United States. I applaud Archbishop Sartain's effort, but why on earth would he leave it up to each parish to decide? It gives the impression that, from the perspective of the Church, this issue of such grave importance is up for a democratic vote. This separation of powers/checks and balances mentality within the Church feeds the impression that Catholicism is a Vox Populi, Vox Dei institution.

Across the nation, these parish committees and "ministry teams" have amassed such a degree of authority that a bishop's own status is often seriously undermined and left in question. More often than not (as this case demonstrates perfectly) the members of these committees are staffed with holdovers from the 1960s who are not on-board with the Church's teaching, especially regarding sexual ethics.